KTB will lend up to 95 per cent of the appraised value at an interest rate of 0.99 per cent during the first six months of the first year, the MRR minus 4 percentage points during the last six months of the first year, MRR-1.7 percentage points for the second and third years and MRR-1.6 percentage points in the fourth and succeeding years.

Weidt Nuchjalearn, first senior executive vice president of KTB, said that besides the special rate, customers can pay their loan instalments with their KTC credit card with 45 days interest-free.

The instalment will be charged directly to the account of KTC credit cardholders to help reduce risk to KTB.

If home loan customers delay paying their credit card bill to KTC after the 45 days, they will have to pay interest based on the 45-day billing period to KTC.KTB hopes the campaign will attract Bt3 billion-Bt5 billion in new home loans this year. The bank targets home loans of Bt50 billion this year.

Target missed

In the first quarter, it posted home loans of Bt20 billion with a net balance of Bt13 billion, making the growth of its outstanding home loans miss the target. It outstanding loans were Bt280 billion-Bt290 billion.

Pittaya Vorapanyasakul, executive vice president for the credit card business at KTC, a subsidiary of KTB, said the company will have to aggressively join hands with KTB in bundling products.

The company aims to acquire new cardholders from among KTB's home loan customers who want to receive the special interest rate and earn Forever Rewards points.

Every Bt25 of payment earns one Forever Rewards point or one KTC ROP mile throughout the term of the contract.

KTC has unchanged its target for spending growth on new credit cards issued even though the result in the first quarter was behind target.

It has to issue 400,000 cards but issued only 50,000 cards in the first three months. KTC has 1.6 million credit cardholders.

Home loan customers are in the mid-to-high segment, which is the target of KTC, as it wants to expand its customer base to the upper segment.

KTC also recently teamed up with AP (Thailand) to offer a zero-interest-rate option for six months on payment of a reservation and deposit for 13 AP condominium projects along Skytrain routes.